Switching from Air to Intel?

[FLY_USMC]

I promise that if you drop your Air Contract you WILL be the guy that gets Adjuctant Okinawa at TBS.

You can stay on the ground side pretty easily if you're a pilot, but you will NEVER get in the cockpit easily as a ground guy.

I do know a guy who failed out of Helo land and got Human Intel, but out of TBS, Intel slots are very competitive, whereas you're already guaranteed a flight spot, don't be stupid.

 

[jus2mch]

Im not going to drop it before I got there. I was trying to find some more information that way its not a seat of the pants decision when I get there. I wouldnt care about all the fast pace stuff. After talking to a retired navy guy, he said his daughter had done Intel and that clearance/job was great for post military jobs. Its just a lot to think about because I dont want to hate my job 3 years from now so I just want to make the best decision. Appreciate all the responses.

Read this thread before you decide.

http://www.airwarriors.com/forum/showthread.php?t=137373

 

[Carno]

There are very few Intel slots for my company right now, and I know of a lot of people in my platoon alone that want them. It seems like a pretty competitive MOS.

FWIW, my company staff decided that if air guys dropped their contract by a certain date, they got thrown into the mix with all the other ground contracts. If they dropped it past that date though (it was very early in the POI), then they got the scraps. I don't know if that is TBS wide though, or just something unique to my company.

 

[Mitch]

I'd recommend against dropping your air contract before you get to flight school. I was a fleet transition guy (0203 ground intel to aviation). I had a great time in the MOS, worked with some good Marines, learned a lot. PM me if you want the specifics. However, when I started TBS I knew I wanted to be a pilot, or in your case, was at least considering it. I say don't switch before you get to flight school because you owe it to yourself to really find out if you're into it or not. You just don't know what you don't know until you get there. It's been said already on this thread but I'll reiterate, it's infinately harder to go from a ground MOS to aviation, though not impossible. It's hard to compare being an aviator with what you do as an 0203. Both are a blast. Chances are that if you get to flight school and work hard but just don't like it you won't get the shaft when it comes time for you to beassigned a new MOS.

Another thing. There seem to be some misconceptions about what intel folks do. Intel guys in the Marine Corps do some vital work in the current conflict. However, don't think that when you finish MOS school they're going to give you a million bucks and the keys to an SUV and let you roam the hinterlands alone and unafraid. It's cool but not that cool.

 

[FlyMikeFly]

If you think you want to fly, hold on to your air contract. TBS has a way of giving people their fill of ground stuff. When we started TBS, and some captain would ask the company how many people wanted to be infantry officers or intel officers, almost 2/3 of the company would raise their hand. As we've gone through the POI, that amount has dropped dramatically, you'll discover why when you get here. Not true for everyone, but I can assure you that most everyone who holds a flight contract has a pretty tight grip on it right now and cannot wait to see the end of TBS.

 

[E5B]

Don't do it!

A guy in my Plt dropped it in hopes for that ONE PAO slot (he had infantry second which made no sense) and he ended up getting ground supply and hating life.

I know every class is different but we had 175 or so ground slots and only 6 or maybe 7 intel slots one of which was HUMINT (this was 5 years ago so things may have changed). That is a big roll of the dice.

 

[Flash]

Don't do it!

A guy in my Plt dropped it in hopes for that ONE PAO slot (he had infantry second which made no sense) and he ended up getting ground supply and hating life.

I know every class is different but we had 175 or so ground slots and only 6 or maybe 7 intel slots one of which was HUMINT (this was 5 years ago so things may have changed). That is a big roll of the dice.

PAO?! What was the guy smoking?

 

[blur]

What's PAO?

 

[HH-60H]

What's PAO?

Public Affairs Officer

 

[blur]

Wow...no offense to any PAOs out there, but seriously what was he smoking...he snags a SNA slot and wanted to deal with the public instead...:yuck_125:

 

[DocT]

If you drop your air contract at TBS be willing to get something you really have no interest in. If you are willing to chance it, then go ahead. Then you can be back on Airwarriors in 8 months telling other Lt's to not drop their air contracts.

 

[Autorotate]

Just a point that no one else has mentioned directly:

If you haven't been acing every written test, and smoking everyone else in PT, don't even think about trying to get a competitive MOS like HumInt. That's pretty much all I have to say about that.